Analysis: Announcement refocuses veep nomination

Chuck Raasch GNS Political Writer Sept. 1, 2008 03:04 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Sarah Palin's place on the Republican ticket with John McCain became more complex Monday when, prompted by Internet rumors, she announced that her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant, would have the child and would marry the child's father.

It was another unexpected twist in a Republican National Convention already blown off course by Hurricane Gustav. And for a day at least, maybe longer if the media echo chamber prolongs it, the perennial debates on abortion rights and teenage pregnancies were focused around a 17-year-old girl.

In a statement released by the McCain campaign, Palin and her husband, Todd, said, "Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have the baby and even prouder to become grandparents.

"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

The Alaska governor's acknowledgment raised a bevy of questions that could help frame this election:

- Is Gov. Palin's daughter's pregnancy anyone's business simply because Palin is John McCain's running mate?

- Does the news undercut cultural conservatives' message of abstinence to teenagers?

- Or does the news enhance anti-abortion activists' messages that all children should be wanted, under any circumstance?

- And will Internet attacks on the Palins from left-leaning blogs - including a post with two pictures of Bristol Palin's stomach - outrage and fire up the cultural conservatives in the Republican base?

McCain knew about the pregnancy before he chose Palin, spokesman Steve Schmidt told reporters at the Xcel Energy Center, where the convention got off to a business-only start Monday.

Asked by a reporter if the choice of Palin under such circumstances called McCain's judgment into question, Schmidt had a sharp response.

"I think your question is offensive," Schmidt said. "It is a private, family matter. The notion that that would bear on (Gov. Palin's) capacity to be vice president of the United States is demeaning. I doubt you would ask that question if it was a man. And the tradition in our politics is that we leave the kids alone."

The McCain campaign said it decided to release the statement after a Reuters story mentioned Internet rumors that Sarah Palin's 5-month-old child, Trig, was actually her daughter's. That rumor had coursed through left-leaning blogs since McCain made Palin his surprise running mate choice on Friday.

"We knew that Gov. Palin's daughter was pregnant and that there were frankly a lot of very disturbing, nasty smears moving around on the Internet, and we had hoped that this could be an issue that could be private, that the family could deal with this privately," Schmidt said. "We didn't have that choice because of a number of media inquiries, so we released a statement from the Palins today and the American people get to see the statement. The Palins asked for privacy around their daughter and we hope that will be respected."

Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of the liberal Internet blog DailyKos, wrote Monday that "maybe one more abstinence-only supporting politician will realize the limits of such approach. Teens will do what they will do. It's obvious Bristol would've been better served with a discussion about safe sex."

Right-leaning blogs pointed out that Obama was born to a teenage mother who married his father after she became pregnant.

Cultural conservatives defended the Palins.

The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins said his group remains committed to preventing teenage pregnancies "through encouraging young people to practice abstinence."

"Fortunately, Bristol is following her mother's and father's example of choosing life in the midst of a difficult situation," Perkins said in a statement. "We are committed to praying for Bristol and her husband-to-be and the entire Palin family as they walk through a very private matter in the eyes of the public."

Delegates gathering here recognized what Michigan State Party Chairman Saul Anuzis called "the reality" of the situation and that "we have to deal with it."